Special issue: Experience and benefits of game playing

Abstract

This special issue of Cyberpsychology entitled “The Experience and Benefits of Game Playing” reflects the efforts of a range of European, American and Australian researchers who place the experience of playing video games at the core of their reflective work. Studies on video gaming can be differentiated on the basis of the extent to which the research positions games at the heart of their work, in addition to the extent to which research gives attention to the capacities and thinking of the game player to be able to offer perspectives on player experience. This approach to research is evident in all articles included in this special issue.

The special edition also sought to widen the research disciplines that could submit research in order to reflect how games currently constitutes an object of study for a wide range of disciplines—including (but not limited to) psychology, media studies, sociology, philosophy, and computer and organizational sciences. The intent was to present research with cross-disciplinary relevance to suggest the kinds of connections that can be made across a wider body of literature with a broader range of research interests reflecting an expansive range of video game texts.